*If Walter Cronkite was the face of CBS News for decades, Don Hewitt was the heart and soul. The creator of "60 Minutes," Hewitt was responsible for some of the best journalism in the history of the medium. First Cronkite, now Hewitt. And not to be maudlin, but Mike Wallace and Andy Rooney are way up in age, too. There may never be a broadcast team like them again.

*White-tablecloth dining in the heart of beautiful downtown Phoenicia? You bet. I finally made it to Riccardelli's last night for our annual summertime dinner with Stan and Shirley Fischler. Who would have guessed that fine dining was inside one of the nondescript buildings along Phoenicia's main drag? With Riccardelli's on one side of the street and the great Sweet Sue's pancake palace opposite it, those who like to eat are missing out on something if you haven't made the trip up Route 28.

*Had to chuckle today listening to some of the conversation on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." The panel was trying to figure out what happened to civility in America in light of the intense heat and nasty rhetoric surrounding the health care debate. You suppose cable yackers like Joe Scarborough and his more inflammatory brethren on both sides of the ideological aisle had anything to do with it?

*Is the "throw the bums out" movement picking up steam in Albany? Here's how the New York Daily News reported the latest poll.